Wire stripper



April 1952 G. R. STEPHENSON 2,594,363

WIRE STRIPPER Filed May 31, 1950 FIG.I

FIG.2

INVENTOR. GENE R. STEPHENSON A f/orn ey Patented Apr. 29, 1952 UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE 2,594,363 WIRE s'rmrrnn Gene R. Stephenson,Sheridan, Oreg.

Application May 31, 1950, Serial N0. 165,281

(Granted under the act of March 3, 1883, as

Claims.

amended April 30, 1928; 370 0. G. 757) The invention describedhereinlmay be manufactured and used by or for the Government forgovernmental purposes, without the payment to me'oi any royalty thereon.

. This invention relates to 'a wire stripper for removing the coveringor insulation from covered wires.

In using electrical conductors, particularly flexible wire conductorssuch as are commonly used in telephone lines, telegraphy, etc., there isa continuous need for removing the insulation covering from the wire.

- The'primary object of the invention is to provide a,' means forfacilitating the removal of insulating material from electricalconductors at places where splices or connections are to be made.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the followingdescription, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational View 01 a pair of pliers havingincorporated therein a preferred form of stripping means and showing aninsulated wire being drawn between the stripping means;

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of a modified formof my invention;and

Fig. 3 is an enlarged elevational view of the stripping means of Fig. 1,the insulated conductor being shown in section for reasons of clarity.vIn the drawing, a pair of pliers includes crossed levers l3, l5,pivoted about a pivot pin I6, the forward ends of which levers cooperateto provide coacting jaws, each of said jaws having'fiattened knurledportions H. The rear ends of the'levers l3, l5 form handles l9, 2| asshown.

. The inner faces of the levers I3, l5 are provided respectively withrecesses 23, 25, in which recesses are mounted, respectively, rotatablecutting members 21, 29 which serve as meansfor cutting, abrading ormarring the insulation 3| of an insulated cable 33. Extending throughthe recesses 23, 25 are posts 35, 31 upon which the cutting-members 21,29, respectively, freely rotate as hereinafter described. Each of saidcutting members 21, 29 is a cylinder, the lateral surface of which isprovided with a helically disposed cutting edge 39, similar to a screwthread. As is seen in Fig. l, the cutting members 21, 29 aresubstantially parallel to each other when the pair of pliers II are inoperating position,

In. the form of my invention shown in Figs. 1 and 3, the two cuttingedges 39, of the two cutting members 21, 29 comprise right hand threads.However, if desired, both cutting members 21, 29 could have left handcutting threads. V

In Fig. 2, there is shown a modified form of my invention wherein thecutting edges or screw threads 39 oi the cutting members 21, 29 haveopposite direction; that is, the left hand member 21 has a left handthread, and the right hand member 29 has a right hand thread.

In use, the handles I9, 2|, are drawn apart (as shown in Fig. 2) and thecable 33, from which a part of the insulation 3| is to be removed, isplaced between the cutting members 21, 29. The handles l9, 2| are thenmoved toward each other so that the cutting edges 39 firmly grip saidcable. One end of the cable 33 is then grasped and it is drawn betweensaid cutting members 21, 29 causing said members to rotate. In thecourse of such rotation, the insulation 3| will be cut and abraded bythe cutting edges 39. Where the cutter is to be used generally on aparticular size of cable, it is desirable that the spacing between thecutting edges 39 of the members 21, 29 be at least as great as thediameter of the conductor of the cable. However, in a wire stripper foruse with conductors of different sizes, the depth of cut or amount ofabrasion of insulation 3| can be readily controlled by the pressureapplied on handles l9, 2|.

When the wire stripper is so made that the rotatable members 21, 29 havecutting edges that are either both left handed threads or both righthanded threads, an insulated wire drawn through the tool will not rideup or down the threads, but will remain fixed at any point between therotating members 21, 29. By twisting the wire in its travel through thetool, all surfaces of the insulation 3| will be thoroughly andcompletely out and abraded. Removal of the cut portion of the insulationcan be easily and quickly accomplished by inserting the cut section ofthe insulation between the knurled portions of the jaws of the pliersand drawing off said out portion leaving the exposed conductor for itsdesired use.

While there has been herein described the preferred embodiments of myinvention, it is obvious that modifications and changes may be madewithout departing from the spirit and scope of my invention. Forexample, while I have described the edges of the cutting members asbeing made of helically disposed screw threads, it will be apparent thatother types of abrading or cutting surfaces may be utilized. As a meansfor carrying the cutting members, I have indicated that a pair ofcrossed levers, such as a pair of pliers, be used. It is to beunderstood, however, that the invention is not to be limited to suchmodification as other supporting means for carrying the cutting membersmay be also utilized.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. In a tool for the removal of insulation from wires, the combinationof a pair of pivoted crossed levers, and means sustained by said leversfor removing the insulation from wires, said means comprising cuttingmembers rotatably sustained respectively by said levers in coactingrelationship, each of said members having a helically positioned cuttingedge thereon.

2. A tool of the type described in'claim' 1 wherein the cutting edges ofsaid rotatable members have opposite directions of pitch with respecttoeach other.

3. In a tool for the removal of insulation fromwires, the combination ofa pair'of; pivotedcrossed levers, the inner faces of said levers. beingprovided with mutually opposing recesses, a'pin disposed. in each ofsaid recesses and a cutting membe rotatably' carried. by each of saidpins, each of said members having a substantially helically positionedcutting edge, said edges of both members having the same direction ofpitch.

4. A tool of the type described in claim 1,

wherein the cutting edges of said rotatable members have the samedirection of pitch.

5. A tool for the removal of insulation from an insulated wire,comprising in combination a pair of rotatably mounted cutting members,each of said members consisting of acylindrical body having asubstantially helically positioned edge thereon for abrading and cuttingthe insulation of said wire and means for urging said members towardeach other.

GENE R. STEPHENSON.

REFERENCES CITED The. following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 631,159 Echols Aug. 15, 1899885,068 Bastie Apr. 21, 1908 1,551,875 Hall Sept. 1, 1925 1,594,036Baker July 27, 1926 2,390,369 Hopper Dec. 4, 1945

